#Unringing The Bell: Judy Higgins

Please welcome Judy Higgins author of Unringing the Bell

One randomly chosen winner via rafflecopter will win a $50 Amazon/BN.com gift card.

Unringing the Bell

by Author: Judy Higgins

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GENRE: Mystery

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INTERVIEW:

1. Do you ever wish you were someone else? Who?

I don’t want to be anyone else, but there are some things I’d change about me. I’d be able to get a sun tan instead of being covered with freckles. What I’d really like to do is clone myself: one clone for writing; one for reading; one for socializing and playing tennis; and one for traveling.

2. What part of the writing process do you dread?

The first draft. Oh, how I hate that. The first draft is always so awful. The more I get into the book, the better I like it.

3. Do you suffer from writer’s block? What do you do about it?

I don’t have writer’s block as a rule. I’m boringly organized. I get up in the morning, make coffee, do the cross-word puzzle, and then go to my computer. I will edit a page of two from the previous day’s work which gets me into the writing mode. You’d think a writer should be more dramatic than that! Pulling hair over writer’s block; despairing because the muse has gone on a long vacation; starving because the royalties aren’t flowing in. I think all the years I wanted to be a pianist set me on the right foot. You practice every day. Some days you don’t/can’t make music, so you work on technique, or work out the notes or fingering. And then one day, the music is there!

4. Tell us about your latest release.

I have the first two books of Bucks County Mysteries coming out at the same time. They’re both set in an imaginary village in Bucks County, Pennsylvania. These are not hard core mysteries: follow the clues, catch the criminal. The mysteries get solved, but my books are more about what happens to the characters – family, friends, neighbors –because of a criminal act. In the first, “Unringing the Bell” Jacob Gillis returning to his home town thirteen years after high school graduation inadvertently becomes entangled in a murder investigation when he tries to help the sister-in-law of the victim.   An unethical prosecutor tries to take advantage of the situation by forcing Jacob to . . . . Whoops! I’m not going to tell you what he tries to get Jacob to do. That would spoil the book for you. There is romance and humor, along with the mystery. The second book in the series, “Bride of the Wind,” is also about what goes on with family and friends when a parent’s worst nightmare happens to the town’s token Jewish couple. There is also a bit or romance and humor in this one, too. Like Shakespeare said: There needs to be a bit of comic relief.

BLURB:

In the small town of Goose Bend, Pennsylvania, people don’t forget. Especially something as sensational as 12-year-old Jacob Gillis burning down the town. Nineteen years later, Jacob returns, hoping for redemption. Instead, he finds himself entangled in a murder investigation. The prosecutor, taking advantage of Jacob’s involvement with the victim’s beautiful sister-in-law, threatens Jacob with loss of career and reputation if he doesn’t play by his rules. Only by outwitting the prosecutor can Jacob save his future.

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Excerpt:

When Jacob Gillis was twelve years old, he burned down the town of Goose Bend, Pennsylvania. The fire didn’t actually consume the entire town – only two blocks of the four-block business section went up in flames – but when the folks in Goose Bend spoke of the incident, they persisted in saying that Jacob Gillis, abetted by his friend Charlie Garrett, burned down the town.

Jacob watched Laskey walk back to the Sequoia, his limp barely detectable, and for the thousandth time he wondered why his friend kept what had happened to his foot a secret. But there were some places Laskey didn’t go – formidable Laskey with his gruff manner and hard-muscled body. He was a private person and sometimes a grizzly bear, but he had a goose-down heart which he tried like heck to hide. But Jacob knew.

Laskey grasped the arms of his chair and pushed his feet hard against the floor to contain himself. For a brief moment, the thought had rushed through his head that a jail term for assaulting a DA would be worth enduring for the pleasure of smashing Inglehook’s head against his desk.

Laskey squared his shoulders, turned around, and looked Jacob in the eyes. “Don’t get yourself in a mess, Jake. Extrication isn’t always possible.” He started for the door.

“Give back the painting,” he called over his shoulder. “And Jake,” he paused and twisted around. “Don’t ever mistake pretty wrappings for the quality of the gift inside.”

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AUTHOR Bio and Links:

Judy Higgins was born in South Georgia where she grew up playing baseball, reading, and taking piano lessons. To pay for her lessons, she raised chickens and sold eggs to neighbors. She attended Mercer University for two years, and then Baylor University from which she graduated with a BA in German. She received her MA in German literature from The University of Michigan. After teaching German for several years, Judy decided to become a librarian and earned an MA in Library Science at Kutztown University in Pennsylvania.

Judy’s life took an exciting turn when she left her teaching job in Pennsylvania to be Head of Library at the Learning Center School of Qatar Foundation. She lived in Qatar for eight years, enjoying the experience of living in a different culture and traveling to exotic places during every vacation. Recently, she returned to the United States and lives in Lexington, KY. Judy has two children, Julia and Stephen, two children-in-law, Jim and Erin, and four grandchildren: Kyle, Jon, Karina, and Addy.

Judy’s first book, The Lady, was a finalist in the 2012 Amazon Break-out Novel Award. The first two novels of her Bucks County Mysteries, Unringing the Bell and Bride of the Wind are available March 1, 2018. The series is set in an imaginary small town in Bucks County, Pennsylvania. Call me Mara, the story of Ruth and Naomi, is scheduled for publication in March, 2019.

In addition to writing, Judy’s passions include travel, tennis, elephants, and playing the piano.

http://www.Judyhigginsbooks.com

http://www.Buckscountymysteries.com

http://www.Callmemara.com

http://www.Judyhigginslady.com

https://www.facebook.com/judyhigginsauthor/

Twitter: https://twitter.com/JudyHBooks

Amazon author page URL:      https://www.amazon.com/Judy-Higgins/e/B00FZQOZPU

Barnes and Noble Author URL: https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/unringing-the-bell-judy-higgins/1128014473

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GIVEAWAY INFORMATION and RAFFLECOPTER CODE

One randomly chosen winner via rafflecopter will win a $50 Amazon/BN.com gift card.

http://www.rafflecopter.com/rafl/display/28e4345f2607